Marketta Gregory never meant to be a columnist. \x34I trained to be a newspaper reporter -- one who tried to her best to be objective. I covered religion for a few years and felt like it was the best job a curious woman like me could ever have.
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Marketta Gregory never meant to be a columnist. \x34I trained to be a newspaper reporter -- one who tried to her best to be objective. I covered religion for a few years and felt like it was the best job a curious woman like me could ever have. Every day I got to listen as people told me about the things that were most important to them, the things that were sacred. But the newspaper industry was changing and few papers could afford to have an army of speciality reporters. So, I moved to cover the suburbs where, as luck would have it, they have plenty of religion, too. Eventually, children came into the picture. One by birth and another two months later by foster care/adoption. I struggled to chase breaking news and be home at a decent hour, so I made the move to what we journalists call the dark side: I took a job in public relations. (Don't worry. I work for a great non-profit, so it's not dark at all.) When I gave my notice at the Rochester (NY) Democrat and Chronicle, the executive editor asked me to consider writing a column on a freelance basis. She didn't want the newspaper to lose touch with its religious sources, and she still wanted consistent faith coverage. I was terrified. It took me about 10 months to get back to her with a solid plan and some sample columns. And so it began, this journey of opening up my heart to strangers.\x34

Sometimes, when the lighting is just right, I can’t help but grab my camera. And when Benjamin plugged in the tree top star to test it, I knew I wanted to freeze the beautiful image on film.
Seconds later he pulled the light bulb and its cord away from the star and began swinging them from left to right.
Can you keep your body really still and swing the light in a full circle, I asked… all the while snapping pictures.

Miraculously the camera-shy boy obliged, and we all ooohed and aaaahed when we saw the results. By leaving the camera’s shutter open a bit longer and staying still, we captured the path of the light.
Staying open.
Staying still.
There’s something to that.
“… the darkness is passing away, and the true light is already shining.” — 1 John 2:8